Night Sheild
by crystaljewel
Summary: ღEven though he agreed to protect her cover even though her own dad vouched for him ,Kagome Higurashi refused to be seduced by Inuyasha Takahashi's charm and good looks, even if her pulse did race at his touch........ღღღღღღღ


Sorry but Inuyasha is Human!!!!! Not a hanyou!!! So Sorry. This is like a regular american/japanese story so dont be mad!!!

The story takes place in america at all times!!!!!!!

VERY LONG CHAPTERS IN THIS STORY!!!

CHARACTERS for 1st chapter:

Inuyasha Takahashi- a mysterious person who owns clubs

Ichiro Higurashi- commissioner of police

Hanako Higurashi- Ichiro's wife (Not really there, just talked about)

Kagome Higurashi- commissioner's daughter and a police officer/Detective

**H**e didn't like cops.

His attitude had deep roots, and steemed from spending his formative years dodging them, outruning them--usually--or being hassled by them when his feet weren't fast enough.

He'd picked his share of pocketss by the time he'd turned twelve and knew the best,and most lucrative channels for turning a hot watch into cold cash.

He'd learned that back then that knowing what time it was couldn't buy happiness, but the twenty bucks the watch brought in paid for a nice slice of the happiness pie. And twnety bucks cannily wagered awelled into sixty at three-to-one.

The same year he'd turned twelve, he'd invested his carefully hoarded takes and winnings in a small gambling enterprise that centered around point spreads and indulged his interests in sports.

He was a buisnessman at heart.

He hadn't run with gangs. First of all he'd never had the urge to join groups, and more importantly he didn't care for the pecking order such organizations required. Someone had to be incharge---and he preferred it to be himself.

Some people might say Inuyasha Takahashi had a problem with authority.

They would be right.

He supposed the tide had turned right after he'd turned thirteen. His gambling interests had grown nicely--a little too nicely to suit certain more established syndicates.

He'd been warned off in the accepted way--he'd had the hell beat out of him. Inuyasha acknowledged the bruised kidneys, split lip and blackened eyes as a buisness risk. But before he could make his desicion to move territories or dig in, he'd been busted. And busted solid.

Cops were a great dael more of an annoyance than buisness rivals.

But the cop who'd hauled his arrogant butt in had been different. Inuyasha had never pinned down what exactly seperated this cop from the others in the line of shields and rule books. So, instead of being tossed into juvie---to which he was no stranger---he'd found himself yanked into programs, youth centers, counseling.

Oh, he'd squirmed and snapped in his own coldblooded way, but this cop had a grip like a bear trap and hadn't let go. No one had held onto him before. Inuyasha had found himself rehabilitated almost despite himself, at least enough to see there were certain advantages to, if not working in the system, at least working the system.

Now, at thirty, no one would call him a pillar of Denver's community, but he was a legitimate buisnessman whose enterprises turned a solid profit and allowed him a life-style the hustling street kid couldn't have dreamed of.

He owed the cop, and he always paid his debts.

Otherwise, he'd have choosen to be chained naked and honey-smeared to a hill of fire ants rather than sit tamely in the outer office of the commissioner of police of Denver.

Even if the commissioner was Ichiro Higurashi.

Inuyasha didn't pace. Nervous motion was wasted motion and gave too much away. The woman manning the station outside the commissioner's doubledoors was young, attractive with red hair. But he didn't flirt. It wasn't the wedding ring on her finger that stopped him as much as her proximity to Ichiro, and through him, the long blue line.

He sat, patient and still, in one of the hunter-green chairs in the waiting area, a tall man with a long-legged, tough build wearing a three thousand dollar jacket over a twenty-dollar t-shirt. His hair was raven black and thick. (sorry no cute lil puupy ears) That and the pale gold of his skin, the whiplash of cheeckbones were gifts from his great-grandfather, an Apache.

The cool, clear honey colored eyes was match made in heaven. (Yes he's GORGEOUS!!!!!)

Inuyasha knew little of his family history. His own parents had been more interested in fighting over the last beer in the six-pack than tucking their only son in with bedtime stories. Occasionally Inuyasha's father had boasted about his lineage, but Inuyasha had never been sure what was fact and what was convenient fiction.

And didn't really give a damn.

You were what you made yourself.

That was a lesson Ichiro Higurashi had taught him.

For that alone, Inuyasha would have walked on hot coals for him.

"Mr. Takahashi? The commissioner will see you now."

She offered a polite smile as she rose to get the door. And she'd taken a good, long look at the commissioners's ten o'clock appointment--a wedding ring didn't strike a woman blind, after all. Something about him made her want to run for cover.

His eyes warned a woman he'd be dangerous. He had a dangerous way of moving as well, she mused. Graceful and sleek as a cat. A woman could weave some very interesting fantasies about a man like that--and fantasies were probably the safest way to be involved with him.

The he flicked her a smile, so full of _power_ and _charm _she wanted to sigh like a teenager.

"Thanks."

She rolled her eyes as she shut the door behind him. "Oh boy, are you welcome."

"Inuyasha." Ichiro was already up and coming around his desk. One hand gripped Inuyasha's while the other gave Inuyasha's shoulder a hard squeeze in a kind of male hug. "Thanks for coming."

"Hard to refuse a request from the commissioner."

The first time Inuyasha had met Ichiro, Ichiro had been a lieutenant. His hair had been a dark, streaked brown, and his office small, cramped and glass walled.

Now Ichiro's hair was a deep, solid silver, and his office spacious. The glass walls was a wide window that looked out on Denver and the mountains that ringed it.

Some things chane, Inuyasha thought, then looked into Ichiro's steady brown eyes. And some things don't.

"Black coffee suit you?"

"Always did."

"Have a seat." Ichiro gestured to a chair then walked over to his coffee machine. He'd insisted on one of his own to save himself the annoyance of buzzing and assistant every time he wanted a hit. "Sorry I kept you waiting. I had a call to finish up. Politics." he muttered as he poured two mugs with rich black coffee. "Cant stand them."

Inuyasha said nothing, but the corner of his lips quirked.

"And no smart remarks about me being a damn poilitician at this stage in my game."

"Never crossed my mind." Inuyasha accepted the coffee. "To say it."

"You always were a sharp kid." Ichiro sat on a chair beside Inuyasha's rather than behind the desk. He let out a long sigh. "Never used to think I'd ride a desk."

"Miss the streets?"

"Every day. But you do what you do, then you do the next thing. How's the new club?"

"It's good. We draw a respectable crowd. Lots of gold cards. They need them," Inuyasha added as he sipped his coffee. "We hose them on the designer drinks."

"That so? And here I was thinking of bringing Kamiko by for an evening out."

"You bring your wife, you get drinks and dinner on the house---is that allowed?"

Ichiro hesitated, tapped his fingers against his mug.

"We'll see. I have a little problem, Inuyasha, I think you might be able to help me with."

"If I can."

"we've had a series of burglaries the last couple of months. Mostly high dollar, easily liquidated stuff.. Jewelry, small elctronicd, cash."

"Same area?"

"No, across the board. Single family homes out in the burbs, downtown apartments, condos. We've had six hits in just under eight weeks. Very slick, very clean."

"We'll what can i do for you?" Inuyasha rested his mug on his knee. "B and E was never my thing." His smile flashed. "According to my recored."

"I always wondered about that." But Ichiro lifted a hand, waved it away. "The marks are as varied as the locations of the hits.Young couples ,older couples,singles.But they all have one thing in common. They were all at a club on the night of the burglary."

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed, the only change of expression. "One of mine?"

"In five out of the six, yours."

Inuyasha drank his coffee, looked out the wide window at the hard blue sky.The tone of his voice remained pleasant,casual. But

his eyes had gone cold. "Are you asking me if im involved?"

"No, Inuyasha, Im not asking you if youre involved. Wevebeen beyond that for a long time." Ichiro waited abeat. The boy was--always had been--touchy. "Or have i."

With a nod, Inuayasha rose. He walked back to the coffeemaker, set down his cup. there weren't many people who mattered enough to him that he cared what they thought of him. Ichiro mattered.

"Someone's using my place to scope marks." he said with his back to Ichiro. "I dont like it."

" I didn't think you would."

"I didn't think you would."

"Which place?"

"The new one. Takahashi's."

He nodded again. "Higher end clientele. Likely a bigger income than the crowd at a sports' bar like Fast Break." He turned back. "What do you want from me, Higurashi?"

"I'd like you cooraperation. And I'd like you to work with the investigation team. Most specifically with the detectives in charge."

Inuyasha swore, and in a rare show of agitation, raked his fingers through his hair. "You want me to rub shoulders with cops, set them loose in my place?"

Ichiro didn't bother to hide his amusement. "Inuyasha, they've already been in your place."

"Not while I was there." Of that, he could be sure. He could sense a cop at half a mile, while he was running in the other direction in the dak.

And had.

"No, apparently not. Some of us work during daylight hours."

"Why?"

With a half laugh, Ichiro streched out his legs. "Did I ever tell you I met Kamiko when we were both on night shift?"

"No more than twenty or thirty times."

"Same smart mouth. I always liked that about you."

"That;s ot what you said when you threatened to staple it shut."

"Nothing wrong with your memory, either. I could use your help, Inuyasha." Ichiro's voice went soft, serious. "I'd appreciate it."

He'd avoided prisons all his life, Inuyasha thought. Until Ichiro. The man had built a prison arund him of loyalty and trust and affection. "You've got it--for what it's worth."

"It's worth a great deal to me." He rose, offered his hand to Inuyasha again. "Right on time," he said as his phone rang. "Get yourself some more coffee. I want you meet the detective in charge of the case."

"He rounded the desk, picked up the reciever.

"Yes, Paula. Good. We're ready." This time he sat at the desk. "I have a lot of faith in this particular cop. The detective shield's fairly new, but it was well earned."

"A rookie detective. Perfect." Resigned, Inuayasha poured more coffee. He didn't bobble the pot when the door opened, but his mind jumped. He supposed it was a pleasant thing to realize he could still be suprised.

She was long--legged, lanky brunette with eyes like prime whiskey. She wore her hair in a strsight, sleek tail down the middle of her back over a trim, well-cut jacket the color of steel.

When she flicked those eyes over him, her wide pretty mouth stayed serious and unsmiling.

Inuyasha realized he'd have noticed the fac first, so classy and fine-boned, then he'd have noticed the cop. The package might have been distracting, but he'd have made her.

"Commissioner." She had a voice like her eyes, deep and dark and potent.

"Detective. You're prompt. Inuyasha, this is---"

"You don't have to introduce her." Casually Inuyasha sipped fresh coffee. "She has your wife's eyes and your jaw. Nice to meet you, Detective Higurashi."

"Mr. Takahashi."

She'd seen him before. Once, she recalled, when her father had gone to one of his high school baseball games and she'd tagged along. She remembered being impressed buy hus gusty, nearly violent, base running.

She also knew his history and wasn't quite as trusting of former delinquents as her father. And, though she hated to admit it, she was a little jealous of their relationship.

"Do you want some coffee, Kagome?"

"No, sir." He was her father, but she didn't sit until the commissioner gestured to a chair.

Ichiro spread his hands. "I thought we'd be more comfortable having this meeting here. Kagome, Inuyasha's agreed to cooperate with the investigation. I've given him the overview. I leave it to you to fill in the necessary details.

"Six burglaries in a period of unde eight weeks Estimated cumulative loss in the ballpark of eight hindred thousand dollars. They go for easliy fenced items, heavy on the jewelry. However, in this case a victim's Porsche was stolen from the garage. Three of the homes had security systems. They were disengaged. There have been no signs of break-in. In each case the residence was empty at the time of the burglary."

Inuyasha crossed the room, sat. "I've already got that much--except for the Porsche. So, you've got someone who can boost cars as well as lift locks, and likely has a channel to turn up through any of the known channels in Denver. The operationa's well organized and efficient. We suspect there are at least two, probably three or more people involved. Your club's been the main source."

"And?"

"Two of your employees at Takahashi's have criminal records. Miroku Sama and Sango Keishay."

Inuyasha's eyes went cold, but didn't flicker. "Miroku ran numbers, and did his time. He's been out and clean for five years. Sango worked the stroll, and it's her buisness why. Now she tends bar instead of johns. Don't you believe in rehabilitation, Detective Higurashi?"

"I believe your club is being used as a pool to hook fish, and i intend to check all the lines. Logic indicates someone on the inside's bating the hook."

"I know the people who work for me." He shot Ichiro a furious look. "Damn it Ichiro."

"Inuyasha, hear us out."

"I dont want my people hassled because they tripped over the law at some piont in their lives."

"No one's going to hassle your people. Or you." Kagome added. Though you did plenty of tripping of your own, she thought. "If we'd wanted to interview them, we would have. We dont need your permission or your cooperation to question potential suspects."

"You move them from my people to suspects very smoothly.

"If you believe they're innocent why worry?"

"Okay, simmer down." Ichiro stayed behind the desk, rubbed the back of his neck. "You're in an awkward and difficult position, Inuyasha. We appreciate that." he said piontedly with a subtl lift of his eyebrows for his daughter. "The goal is to root out whoever's in charge of this orginazation and put an end to it. They're using you."

"I don't want Miroku and Sango yanked down into interrogation."

"That's not our intention." So he had a hot button, Kagome mused. Friendship? Loyalty? Or maybe he had a thing going with the ex-hooker. I would be part of the job to find out. "We don't want to alert anyone on the inside to the investigation. We need to find out who's targeting the marks, and how. We want you to put a cop on the inside."

"I'm on the inside." he reminded her.

"Then you should be able to make room for another waitress. I can start tonight."

Inuyasha let out a short laugh , turned to Ichiro, "You want your daughter working tables in my club?"

Kagome got to her feet, slowly. "The commissioner wants one of his best detectives undercover at your club. And this is my cas."

Inuyasha rose as well. "Let's clear this up. I dont givea damn whose case it is. Your father asked me to cooperate, so I will. Is this what you want me to do? he asked Ichiro.

"It is for now."

"Fine. She can start tonight. Five o'clock, my office at Takahashi's. We'll go over what you need to know."

"I owe you for this Inuyasha."

"You'll never owe me anything." He walked to the door, stopped, shot a glance over his shoulder. "Oh, Detective? Waitresses at Takahashi's wear black. Black shirt or sweater, black skirt. Short black skirt," he added, then let himself out.

Kagome pursed her lips, and for the first time since she'd come into the room relaxed enough to slip her hands casually into her pockets. "I dont like you friend, Dad."

"He'll grow on you."

"What like mold? No," she corrected. "He's too cool for

that. I might end up with a little skin of ice, though. You're sure of him?"

"As sure as I am of you."

And that, she thought, said it all. "Whoever's set up these B and E's has brains, connections and guts. I'd say your pal there has all three." She lifted her shoulders. "Still if I can't trust your judgement, whose can I trust?"

Ichiro grinned. "Your mother always liked him."

"Well then, I'm half in love already." That wiped the grin off his face, she noted with amuesement. "I'm still going to have a couple of men under as customers."

"That's your call."

"It's been five days since the last hit. They're working too well not to want to move again soon."

She strode toward the coffeepot, changed her mind and strode away again. "They might not use his club next time, it's not a given. We can't cover every damn club in the city."

"So, you focus your energy on Takahashi. That's smart, and it's logical. One steo at a time, Kagome."

"I know. I learned that from the best. I guess the first step is to go dig up a short black skirt."

Ichiro winced as she walked to the dorr. "Not too short."

Kaogome had the eight-to-four shift at the precint, and even if she left on the dot and sprinted the four blocks from her station the her apartment, she couldn't get home before 4:10.

She knew. She'd timed it.

And leaving at exactly four was as rare as finding diamonds in the mud. But damned if she wanted to be late for her next meeting with Takahashi.

It was a matter of pride and priciple.

She slammed into her apartment at 4:11--thanks to the delay of a last-minute breifing by her lieutenant--and peeled off her jacket as she raced to the bedroom.

Takahashi's was a good twenty minutes away at a brisk jog--and half again that much if she attempted to drive in rush hour traffic.

It was only her second undercover assignment behind her detective's sheild. She had no intetion of screwing it up.

She released her shoulder harness and tossed it onto the bed. Her apartment was simple and uncluttered, mostly because she wasn't there long enough for it to be otherwise. The house where she'd grown up was still home, the station house was a second on that list of priorities, and the apartment where slept, occasionally ate and even more rarely loitered, was far down third.

She'd always wanted to be a cop. She hadn't made a big deal of it. It simplywas her dream.

She yanked open her closet door and pushed through a selection of clothes--designer dresses, tailored jackets and basketball jerseys--in search of a suitable black skirt.

If she could manage a quick change, she might actually have time to slap together a sandwhich or stuff a handfull of cookies into her mouth before she raced out again.

She pulled out a skirt, winced at the length when she held it up, then tossed that on the bed as well to dig through her dresser for a pair of black hose.

If she was going to wear a skirt that barely covered her butt, she would damn well cover the rest with solid, opaque black.

Tonight could be the night, she thought as she stripped of her trousers. She had to stay calm about it, cool, controlled.

She would use Inuyasha Takahashi, but she would not be distracted by him.

She knew a great deal about him through her father, and she'd made it her buisness to find out more. As a kid he'd had light fingers, qiuck feet and a nimble brain. She could almost admire a boy with barely twelve years under his belt who'd managed to organize a sports' betting syndicate. Almost.

And she supposed she could come close to admiring someone who'd turned those beginnings around--at least on the surface--and made himself into a successful buisnessman.

The fact was she'd been in his sports' bar and had enjoyed the atmosphere, the service and the truly superior margaritas Fast Break provided.

The place had a terrific selection of pinball machines, she recalled. Unless someone had broken her record in the last six months. her initials were still in the number n slot on Double Play.

She really should make time to get back there and defend her championship status.

But thats was beside the point, she riminded herself. Right now the piont was Inuyasha Takahashi.

By 4:20 she was dressed in black--turtleneck, skirt,hose. She shoved through the shoes on the floor of her closet and found a suitable pair of low heels.

There was enough time to drive to the club if she got straight down to the garage and hit all the lights on green.

She pulled open the door. Swore.

"Kouga, what are you doing?"

Kouga Yuudai held up a bottle of California Chardonnay and offered a big, cheerful smile."Just in the neighborhood, Thought we could have a drink."

"Im on my way out."

"Fine." He shifted the bottle, tried to take her hand. "I'll go with you."

"Kouga." She didn't want to hurt him. Not again. He'd been so devastated when she'd broken things off two months before. And all his phone calls, pop-ins, run-ins since then had ended badly. "We've been through all this."

"Come on, Kagome. Just a couple of hours. I miss you."

"Im sorry Kouga. I'm in a hurry."

She tried to pass him but that was a nogo!!

He grabbed her before she could walk by. "I want to talk to you."

"Im going to give you till the count of three to let me go."

His mood swung again. " I'm sorry. Kagome I'm sorry, I'm upset, thats all. just give me another chance. I just need another chance. I'll make it work this time."

She pried his fingers off her arm. "It never worked. Go home Kouga. I've got nothing for you."

She walked away without looking back, bleeding inside because she had to. Bleeding inside because she could.

Other chappies will be better "Lemons" later on in the story!!!!!!!!!!


End file.
